Since school is out in the next few days, we’re going to be hitting the road on and off through the summer to make some use of the free time without homework to try to squeeze in some fun.

Of course, this kind of hitting the road also entails additional difficulties that we don’t face at home.

Normally, we don’t really keep the kids confined in one place for long periods of time.  (Yes, I realize that parents of NT kids deal with the same thing on trips.)  When we’re here at home, any trip is typically about an hour at most, and then they can run around like little crazy people again when we reach our destination.  It’s easy enough to keep the children occupied for that hour, or even a little over it, as long as they’re reasonably aware that there’s something fun/delicious on the far end.

On the other hand, we have a few longer drives already planned for the coming weeks – trips to Sesame Place and Busch Gardens Williamsburg.  These trips are 1 1/2 and 4 1/2 hours (at least) respectively, depending on traffic, weather and general need to get out and pee, and may at times also involve overnight stops.

I’ve been very up front with my general… discomfort with car rides with the kids, in prior postings.  Our last two trips to visit my parents went very much off the rails during the hotel stays, as the Monster got into a mode where being in a mood, coupled with the unfamiliar environment, triggered major problems with keeping him asleep and in bed.  I’d rather not repeat that all summer, and it was one of the largest reasons I was against our proposed car-trip to Florida, which would have involved multiple such stops.  Maybe I am being unreasonable and a bit selfish, but if we’re going on vacation, I do want to sleep at some point.

So far, it looks like we’re going to have to day-trip our journey to Sesame Place (just due to cost).  We’ve not even really started to look ahead to Busch Gardens – a trip that’s complicated by my wanting to also catch a Tidewater Tides (minor league baseball, and yes, I realize they’re now the Norfolk Tides) game – but I have to admit that at least part of me is contemplating recommending that we not attempt to Priceline a location, but rather just pick a hotel and pay something closer to the rack-rate to ensure we get a suite where we can have some peace while the children sleep.  The added cost, to me, might be worth it if it offers a better guarantee that I can be well rested for enjoying the trip myself.

I’ll also be writing reviews for the places we go, so… here goes nothing, right?